ALLERGIES

Allergies

Elaine writes:
Some of the allergy testing is far from accurate. However, if you have
ever had an anaphylactic reaction to a nut or another food, stay away for it
for ever and ever.

There are two schools of thought about gut problems: (1) leaky gut which suggests
that intact proteins from things like wheat and milk are getting into the bloodstream
and provoking an allergic reaction (2) our school of thought that overgrowth
of bacteria can cause alterations in the gut mucosa which might cause large
molecules to get through into the bloodstream. However, if we get rid of bacterial
overgrowth, the gut will heal and allergies in time will disappear if, in fact
they are caused by the damage to the intestinal mucosa. There are a few other
theories which I will not discuss now but they, too, involve the immune system
but in other ways aside from inducing an allergic reaction.

Most people such as you find that introducing the introductory diet for a
few days and then gradually gaining confidence that certain foods should be
added, find that they are getting better eating the very foods to which they
were supposed to be allergic.

The book should be required reading for anyone with Crohn's disease and we wish gastroenterologists would read it as well. The diet is a real alternative to the drug based therapy from the medical community.

Information published on this Web site is intended to support the book Breaking The Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall and is for information purposes only. It is not the intention of this site
to diagnose, prescribe, or replace medical care. Your doctor or nutrition expert
should be consulted before undertaking a change of diet.